IN BORNEAN FORESTS [chap. 



been once tried, after a certain time are tried again a little higher up. 

 Sometimes one sees them with three or four of these notches up the 

 trunk. One I saw, which was quite 160 feet high, with the cylindrical 

 portion of its trunk above the butt about three and a half feet in 

 diameter, had three notches partly healed up. Kam-Uan was of 

 opinion that this tree ought to be now rich in camphor, judging by 

 the smell given off by the chips of its wood, and he asserted that he 

 would return to look for it as soon as he had dreamt a favourable 

 dream. In collecting camphor, the Kayans of the Tubao do not 

 fell the tree, but proceed in the following manner. Having ascer- 

 tained that the tree is productive, they deepen the trial notch and 

 then make another one above it. If this shows camphor they cut 

 a third notch higher still, and so on until no more of the precious 

 secretion is to be seen. Then the trunk is split longitudinally, and 

 all the wood between the notches cut out. It is divided into small 

 pieces, and the resin, which lies in the fissures between the fibres and 

 layers of the wood, is picked and scraped out. 



From other sources I learnt that in some other localities in the 

 Bintulu district the tree is felled and cut up into as many portions 

 as there are members of the party, each one extracting the camphor 

 from his own piece. Sometimes, instead of camphor in a solid 

 condition, a soft variety is found, which is whitish and of a mucila- 

 ginous nature. Such a find may be the cause of a tragedy, for by a 

 curious association of ideas it is thought to be a proof of infidelity 

 on the part of the wife of the discoverer. I have been told that it 

 has happened in such cases that the unfortunate finder, stung by the 

 jeers of his companions, has rushed home and killed his supposed 

 unfaithful wife without further explanation. 



Strange stories are told by the Kayans of transformations of the 

 camphor which is being collected into cigars and siri leaves, but 

 this, no doubt, is the work of some clever light-fingered member of 

 the party. The camphor hunters must only talk of women and 

 erotic subjects ; they must wear no article of dress besides the jaw at. 

 The friok — the vessel for cooking rice — must not be used ; and they 

 must not indulge either in siri or tobacco. This is saying a good 

 deal, for the Kayans, like the Dyaks, prefer going without rice to 

 depriving themselves of tobacco. 



The camphor tree of the Kayan country attains a great size. 

 Its bark is of a dark colour, and comes off in thin flakes. At the base 

 the trunk is wider, but does not throw out true laminar buttresses 

 or banner. Botanically, the tree must be considered a true Dryobala- 

 nops, but it is specifically different from that which produces camphor 

 in Sumatra, and from any other hitherto described. It may be dis- 

 tinguished under the name of D. Kayanensis (P.B., No. 3)734)- 

 The camphor it produces is found both in large and small trees, and 

 no external sign indicates its presence. In a large tree as much as 



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